Boot or shoe



June 1943- L. s. MACDONALD ET AL 2,322,532

BOOT OR SHOE Filed April 21, 1943 BY (041m CLMACW Patented June 22, 1943 UNITED STATES mmoptics Brockton, Mass., assignorsto Thompson Bros. Shoe Co., Brockton, Masa, a corporation of 7 Massachusetts Application April 21, 1943, Serial No. 483,910

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a boot or shoe and to an inner sole therefor.

As is well known in the art, a boot or shoe should fit snugly around the heel of the foot and over the instep, while the fore part should permit freedom of movement of the toes during the act of walking, the bottom of the shoe at the fore part being flexible enough to permit movement of the toes during the act of walking whil the shank should be stiff enough to properly support the arch of the foot and to preserve the shoe in its normal shape. In the usual shoe, say of the Goodyear type, the upper, outer sole and heel are sewedand nailed to the inner sole, the latter being of uniform thickness from end to end, the outer sole being of somewhat reduced thickness in the shank and heel parts. The flexibility of the fore part depends largely on the thickness of the outer sole, stiffness in the shank being obtained through the use of metal shank pieces placed between the inner and outer soles at the shank.

One object of the present invention is to provide a novel and superior construction of boot or shoe which is characterized particularly by the flexibility of the fore part of the shoe and by the degree of stiffness in the shank thereof requisite to the proper support of the arch of the foot and to the preservation of the heel portion of the .boot or shoe in its normal shape.

With this general object in view, and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the boot or shoe hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawing illustrating the invention, Fig. l is a side elevation with portions broken away illustrating a boot or shoe embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of an inner sole embodyin the invention and which is used in e construction of the boot or shoe shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 of a modified form of inner sole.

In general, the present invention contemplates a novel construction of boot or shoe which is designed to impart maximum freedom of movement to the toes and fore part of thefoot and to afford a comfortable and firm support for the arch during walking, and consequently to afford maxi- 'mum] comfort to the wearer of the shoe while preserving a snugfit around the heel portions of the foot, thus assisting in maintaining the heel portion of the boot or' shoe in its original shape even when worn for substantial periods of time.

In accordance with the present invention a Goodyearwelt boot or shoe is provided with a flexibilized leather outsole impregnated with a liquid sulphur chloride treated vegetable oil and with a flexible insole extendin the full length of the shoe whereby to impart-to the fore part of the boot or shoeextreme flexibility. The flexible insole is provided with a stiffer but flexible shank piece in the rear part thereof extending forward over the shank. portion thereof, and. the shank piece and insole are connected by a multiplicity of rows of stitchingwhich .are spaced, anddistributed .over the shank portion of the shoeiso as to hold the flexible shoe at the shankportion and provide an efficient but comfortable arch support.-,, Referring nowto the drawing, in which we have illustrated our invention by showing a preferred embodiment of, the same, the reference numeral 1!] indicates, in general, a shoe, in this instance of the Goodyear welt type, the shoe including an upper ll .the marginal edges of which are pulled in the usual manner over the bottom of theinner sole l2 and attached to the lip 13! thereof by the inseam stitches [4, which stitches also attach the welt l5 thereto. An outersole I6, flexibilized in a manner to be described, is attached to the welt by the usual outseam stitches ll. As shown herein, a shank piece iii, of. any usual or preferred type, is inserted between the inner and outer soles, the shank piece extending across the heel and through the shank and terminating at the forward end of the latter.

The inner sole herein indicated by the numeral I2 is of conventional shape and differs from the usual inner sole in that it has an extremely flexible fore part and a stiffer but flexible shank portion.- The shank and heel portions of the inner sole are indicated by the reference numerals l9 and 23, and in the-construction of the present inner-sole a lower full length insole !3 of a relatively thinflexible nature has secured tothe shank and. heel portions thereof a stiffer but flexible shank piece 2! extending from right back of the ball in the arch of the shoe to back of the heelpreferably of a light weight but firm material such as grain leather of about 3 iron in thickness. The forward end 22 of the extra shank piece 2 is skivedto a relatively thin edge on its under side, and the shank piece 2| is preferablyattached to the upper face 23 of the lower full length insole l3- by cement or other adhesive. In order to satisfactorily hold the flexible shoe at the shank thereof and to provide an fficient but comfortable arch support, the shank piece 2i at the shank portion of the inner sole is stitched to the original full length flexible insole 113 with a multiplicity of rows of stitching spaced and distributed over the shank portion to accomplish this result. It has been found experimentally that at least five rows of stitching are required in order to impart to the shank portion of the inner sole that degree of stiffness which is necessary in order to best support the arch portion of the foot without requiring that the shank and heel portions of the inner sole be made excessively thick, a fact which would detract from the a proper fitting of the heel portion of the foot into the shoe. In practice it is preferred to construct the lower full length flexible portion [3 of the inner sole of flexible leather, but other material having the high degree of flexibility may be utilized if found advantageous.

As above pointed out, the outer sole Hi of the present shoe is flexibilized to impart to it a degree of flexibilty such as to enable it in cooperation with the flexible inner sole to render the fore part of the shoe extremely flexible and unable the shoe to be worn with maximum comfort. This is accomplished in accordance with the present invention by passing a leather outer sole through any of the known forms of flexibilizing machines now upon the market to loosen the fibers thereof and by impregnation of the outer sole with a liquid sulphur chloride treated vegetable Oilywhereby extreme flexibility is imparted to the outer sole. Such liquid sulphur chloride treated vegetable oils are obtainable upon the market.

The inner sole described above cooperates with K the outer sole to give the shoe bottom, in its fore part, greater flexibility and comfort to the wearer than has'heretofore been possible. Those skilled 7 in the art will readily understand that the relatively thin flexible fore part of the inner sole cooperates with the outer sole in giving the shoe bottom the flexibility characteristic of our invention, the stiffer but flexible shank portion embodying the multiplicity of rows of stitching above described, serving not only to preserve the shape of the shoe over long periods of use but to support the arch of the foot in a proper manner.

In constructing the present shoe, a'filler mem'- ber generally indicated at 32 in Fig.1 is utilized in the usual manner to fill the space between the outer and inner soles at the fore part of the shoe, and in the preferred embodiment of the invention any known or preferred filler member 32 of a highly resilient type is employed. In practice most desirable results have been experienced with a preformed or molded filler member comprising ground cork and a resilient binder such as latex. The resilient filler 32 cooperates with the flexible construction of the fore part of the shoe above described to impart maximum comfort and freedom of flexing during walking.

In some instances I may prefer to provide the shank portion of the improved inner sole with a series of longitudinal grooves 30 in the upper surface of the extra shank portion 2| preferably by deforming the leather by grooving rolls or the like and arranging the stitches so that the heads of the stitches are received within the grooves and disposed below the upper surface of the extra shank portion 2|. Such a structure is illustrated in Fig. 4. v

This application is a continuation in' part of our application for Boot or shoe, Serial No. 460,468, filed October 2, 1942.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be apparent that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

l. A Goodyear welt boot or shoe designed to afford freedom in flexing during walking having, in combination, a flexibilized leather outsole impregnated with a liquid sulphur chloride treated vegetable oil, a flexible insole extending the full length of the shoe, a stiffer but flexible shank piece in the rear part of the insole and extending forward over the shank portion thereof, and a. multiplicity and at least five spaced rows of stitching connecting the insole and shank piece, the construction of the shoe being such that the said rows of stitching hold the flexible shoe at the shank portion and provide an eificient and comfortable arch support.

2. A Goodyear welt boot or shoe designed to afford freedom in flexing during walking having, in combination, a flexibilized leather outsole im-' pregnated with a liquid sulphur chloride treated vegetable oil, a flexible insole extending the full length of the shoe, a stiffer but flexible shank piece in the rear part of the insole and extending forward over the shank portion thereof, and a multiplicity of longitudinally extending rows of stitching connecting the insole and shank piece and with the rows distributed across the insole, the construction of the shoe being such that the said rows of stitching hold the flexible shoe at the shank portion and provide an efficient and comfortable arch support.

3. A Goodyear welt boot or shoe designed to afford freedom in flexing during walking having, in combination, a flexibilized leather outsole impregnated with a liquid sulphur chloride treated vegetable oil, a flexible leather insole extending the full length of the shoe, a stiffer but flexible shank piece in the rear part of the insole and extending forward over the shank portion there of, and a multiplicity and at least five spaced rows of stitching connecting the insole and shank piece, the construction of the shoe being such that the said rows of stitching hold the flexible shoe at the shank portion and provide an efficient and comfortable arch support.

4. A Goodyear welt boot or shoe designed to afford freedom in flexing during walking having, in combination, a flexibilized leather outsole impregnated with a liquid sulphur chloride treated vegetable oil, a flexible leather'insole extending the full length of the shoe, a stiffer but flexible shank piece in the'rear part of the insole and extending forward over the shank portion there'- oi', and a multiplicity of longitudinally extending rows of stitching connecting the insole and shank piece and with the rows distributed across the insole, the construction of the shoe being such that the said rows of stitching hold the flexible shoe at the shank portion and provide an efficient and comfortable arch support.

5. A Goodyear welt boot or shoe designed to afford freedom in flexing during walking having, in combination, a flexibilized leather outsole impregnated with a liquid sulphur chloride treated vegetable 011, a flexible insole extending the full length of the shoe, a stiffer but flexible, shank piece in the rear part of the insole and extending forward over the shank portion thereof, and a multiplicity of rows of stitching spaced apart and substantially uniformly distributed. across and connecting the insole and shank piece, the construction of the shoe being such that the said rows of stitching hold the flexible shoe at the shank portion and provide an arch support.

6. A Goodyear welt boot or shoe designed to afford freedom in flexing during walking having, in combination, a fiexibilized leather outsole impregnated with a liquid sulphur chloride treated vegetable oil, a flexible insole extending the full length of the shoe, a stiffer but flexible shank piece in the rear part of the insole and extending forward over the shank portion thereof, said shank piece being provided with a plurality of spaced grooves, and a multiplicity of spaced rows of stitching connecting the insole and the grooved portions of the shank piece, the construction of the shoe being such that the said rows of stitching hold the flexible shoe at the shank portion and provide an arch support.

7. A Goodyear welt boot or woe designed to afford freedom in flexing during walking having, in combination, a flexibilized leather outsole impregnated with a liquid sulphur chloride treated vegetable oil, a flexible insole extending the full length of the shoe, a stiffer but flexible shank piece in the rear part of the insole and extending forward over the shank portion thereof, a multiplicity of rows of stitching spaced apart and substantially uniformly distributed across and connecting the insole and shank piece, and a resilient filler between the insole and the outsole at the fore part of the shoe, the construction of the shoe being such that the said rows of stitching hold the flexible shoe at the shank portion and provide an arch support.

LAURIE S. MACDONALD. OSCAR N. JOHNSON. 

